1) Combine flour, salt and turmeric powder in a mixing bowl. Combine milk, water (or coconut milk) in another bowl and whisk in the egg. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and sieve batter to remove lumps. Add in the cooking oil and cover to rest for 30 minutes before using.

2) Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat, lightly grease with cooking oil. Stir the batter and pour some batter into the roti jala mould.

3) Move the mould in concentric circles to make the lace pattern.

4) Flip over once and repeat the process until all the batter is used up.

5) Roll up the roti jala or fold into parcels. Cover with a tea towel to prevent drying.

Each pancake takes about a minute or less to cook

Notes on making these Roti Jala:
This is my first time making these Roti Jala. After some trial and error on the first few pieces of Roti Jala, I managed to get these nice lacey pancakes.

1) Sieving the batter is essential as you do not want lumpy flour to block the tiny holes in the Roti Jala mould.

2) The batter consistency is thinner than the usual pancake, very similar to batter for crepe.

3) I find that filling the mould up to about 3/4 full gives a better flow of the batter.

4) Sit the mould in a bowl or cup with a flat surface (see pic below), so that the batter does not flow out from the bottom funnels (careful not to topple over the mould!).

5) To cook the pancake, move the mould with the bowl/cup over the heated pan (you do not want batter to be dripping all over your stove). Lift up the mould from the bowl/cup and lower the mould close to the pan (but not touching) to form circles. Do not hold the mould too high up from the pan (the batter will not flow nicely to form a nice lace pattern).

6) Cook the pancake for about 45 seconds (check with a thin blade or spatula). Once the pancake turns light brown, flip it over to the other side. Count down to 10 and it's done!

Roti jala mould

My initial idea is to manually poke some holes in an empty condensed milk can as my DIY Roti Jala mould. But, a plastic mould costs only S$1 and is reusable, I better not mess with hammer and nail.

It's dinner time!

I served these Roti Jala with sambal prawns for dinner. My family loves the softness of these Roti Jala and it's fun to eat them (especially for kids!). Another post for sambal prawns ....